xt
moment he descends to the cool shadows beneath, where dark,
coffee-colored waters, the overflow of a pond or river, stretch back
among the trees. Here he loves to hop about the floating drift-wood, wet
by the lapping of pulsating wavelets, now following up some long,
inclining, half submerged log, peeping into every crevice and
occasionally dragging forth from its concealment a spider or small
beetle, turning alternately its bright yellow breast and olive back
towards the light; now jetting his beautiful tail, or quivering his
wings tremulously, he darts off into some thicket in response to a call
from his mate; or, flying to a neighboring tree trunk, clings for a
moment against the mossy hole to pipe his little strain, or look up the
exact whereabouts of some suspected insect prize."

THE INDIGO BUNTING.

The Indigo Bunting's arrival at its summer home is usually in the early
part of May, where it remains until about the middle of September. It is
numerous in the eastern and middle states, inhabiting the continent and
seacoast islands from Mexico, where they winter, to Nova Scotia. It is
one of the very smallest of our birds, and also one of the most
attractive. Its favorite haunts are gardens, fields of deep clover, the
borders of woods, and roadsides, where, like the Woodpecker, it is
frequently seen perched on the fences.

It is extremely active and neat in its manners and an untiring singer,
morning, noon, and night his rapid chanting being heard, sometimes loud
and sometimes hardly audible, as if he were becoming quite exhausted by
his musical efforts. He mounts the highest tops of a large tree and
sings for half an hour together. The song is not one uninterrupted
strain, but a repetition of short notes, "commencing loud, and rapid,
and full, and by almost imperceptible gradations for six or eight
seconds until they seem hardly articulated, as if the little minstrel
were unable to stop, and, after a short pause, beginning again as
before." Baskett says that in cases of serenade and wooing he may mount
the tip sprays of tall trees as he sings and abandon all else to melody
till the engrossing business is over.

The Indigo Bird sings with equal animation whether it be May or August,
the vertical sun of the dog days having no diminishing effect upon his
enthusiasm. It is well known that in certain lights his plumage appears
of a rich sky blue, varying to a tint of vivid verdigris green, so that
the bi